Bush Hog~ Driveline shortening? Argghh!!

[Coyote machine]

BrushBull BB72X~ Driveline shortening? Argghh!!

Have a Woods~BrushBull 72X" Xtreme, Std. Duty.
Tried following the directions to shorten the driveline shafts so they are equal lengths, don't bind when raised or lowered, but not sure I got it right.
They talk about raising the hog up and down without the shafts on the gearbox and PTO to determine if the factory supplied shaft is too long or too short. If too short they say to get another longer one from dealer. They say to cut the shaft after measuring and add 1 9/16". I did all that and used the sleeve to set the cut on the outer shaft from PTO toward gearbox/slipclutch.
Then they say to do the same thing to the inner drive line, (going to the gearbox). This is where I run into problems. If I use the same measured shaft sleeve to mark the inner shaft and cut it then it will be too short. They say there needs to be 4" of engagement, (shaft overlap?) at the cutter's lowest point of operation. And they say there must be at least 1/3 driveline length of engagement during operation.
Well, I did NOT cut the inner shaft, instead I put it all together and ran it in my field for a couple of passes and it went fine. There is some wobble when it starts up until it gets to speed, but then it seems the shaft is running properly - at least as far as I can determine. The inner shaft from the gearbox forward is definitely longer than the section from the PTO, (outer shaft), so I'm unsure what to do now.
One key thing is I'm not certain but it is possible when I did the outer shaft measurement that I may not have had the lock collar fully forward on the PTO shaft, thus when I cut the outer shaft I could have cut it too short.
This is partly why i decided to leave the inner shaft uncut until I can figure out what needs to be done to correct the problem; assuming there is one. Does one have to always cut both shaft sections? Does each section need to be the same length after being cut?
Can I leave it the way it is, and not cut the inner shaft?
I don't want to do something completely wrong and cause a safety issue with the drive line.
Thanks for any help offered.:thumbsup:

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Have a Bush Hog BrushBull 72" Xtreme Std. Duty.

Clarification please.....Which is it?

Bush Hog doesn't make "BrushBull"......Woods makes Brush Bull....

"Xtreme std duty...."?????? That's akin to saying big little..... Which is it...Extreme duty or standard duty? In particular, which MODEL and which BRAND.....? (ie Woods BB72, BB720, BB7200, or any one of a number of models from Bush Hog....)

I see you have a BB72 listed in your profile....Assuming that's it, that ISN'T a Bush Hog brand, it's Woods. And it sure isn't an Xtreme duty mower....It'll be Woods light duty entry.


Both shaft sections SHOULD be same relative length.....It's entirely possible NEITHER needed to be cut from the get-go. They can overlap a bit MORE than what is specified, so long as they aren't binding. (as mentioned, they should NOT operate with LESS engagement than specified, although that is VERY uncommon) It's safe to assume you can still retract the telescoping shaft enough to attach it (without issues) to the tractor's pto stub, while mower is sitting on the ground...? Marking that point, can you extend the shaft well beyond that point and still have the two halves engaged? (with shaft detached from tractor)

 

[Coyote machine]

Clarification please.....Which is it?

Bush Hog doesn't make "BrushBull"......Woods makes Brush Bull....

Sorry, it is a Woods BrushBull Rotary Cutter, BB72X, the X for xtreme, and it is their standard duty version of this model. I was confused by this part too when I bought it, only to find out later that it is in fact the standard duty entry and that there are heavier duty units they make as well?!:confused2:

"Xtreme std duty...."?????? That's akin to saying big little..... Which is it...Extreme duty or standard duty? In particular, which MODEL and which BRAND.....? (ie Woods BB72, BB720, BB7200, or any one of a number of models from Bush Hog....)

I see you have a BB72 listed in your profile....Assuming that's it, that ISN'T a Bush Hog brand, it's Woods. And it sure isn't an Xtreme duty mower....It'll be Woods light duty entry.


Both shaft sections SHOULD be same relative length.....It's entirely possible NEITHER needed to be cut from the get-go. They can overlap a bit MORE than what is specified, so long as they aren't binding. (as mentioned, they should NOT operate with LESS engagement than specified, *although that is VERY uncommon) *I'm unclear as to what this means?
It's safe to assume you can still retract the telescoping shaft enough to attach it (without issues) to the tractor's pto stub, while mower is sitting on the ground...? Yes, I drop the PTO end below the tractor's rear end and slide the outer section over the inner section, (gearbox end) and then extend the outer PTO section forward toward the PTO spline and attach it with the locking collar in the groove. Marking that point, can you extend the shaft well beyond that point and still have the two halves engaged? (with shaft detached from tractor)

I believe so, but I will have to verify to be sure.

 

[RoyJackson]

Something that might help...

When raising an implement, the PTO driveline will be most compressed (shortest) when it's parallel to the ground. You'll want it short enough that the two halves don't bottom out at that point and still have adequate overlap.

 

[gwdixon]

My OPINION - the PTO shaft is just fine the way it is as long as there is 4" - 5" of shaft engagement when it is running.

If there is enough slack to hook up the locking ring to the PTO of the tractor then that should be enough slack. As Roy mentions - raise and lower the mower to make sure the shaft does not bottom out when shortened during lifting.

Everything Attachments has a video that may help. It is in the 5th row down in the middle of the video listings.

http://www.everythingattachments.com/category-s/2999.htm

 

[Coyote machine]

What do you guys mean when you say: bottoming out? I just don't get what it means...

I do understand what you mean about shortest length, (compressed shaft sections) when parallel to the ground.:thumbsup:

Thanks all, man I get confused with this stuff sometimes.

I did call Woods and spoke to their tech and he said to verify that there is adequate overlap when the shaft sections are most extended, at least 4" or more.
I plan to do just what he and you guys suggested.

 

[RoyJackson]

What do you guys mean when you say: bottoming out? I just don't get what it means...

"Bottoming out" is when the two sections collapse together. The problem is when there is more travel which would require the drive line to collapse further...which it could not. Then you damage the tractor's PTO ($$$$) or the implement gearbox ($$$).

 

[Degolyerent]

Clarification please.....Which is it?

Bush Hog doesn't make "BrushBull"......Woods makes Brush Bull....

"Xtreme std duty...."?????? That's akin to saying big little..... Which is it...Extreme duty or standard duty? In particular, which MODEL and which BRAND.....? (ie Woods BB72, BB720, BB7200, or any one of a number of models from Bush Hog....)

I see you have a BB72 listed in your profile....Assuming that's it, that ISN'T a Bush Hog brand, it's Woods. And it sure isn't an Xtreme duty mower....It'll be Woods light duty entry.

Both shaft sections SHOULD be same relative length.....It's entirely possible NEITHER needed to be cut from the get-go. They can overlap a bit MORE than what is specified, so long as they aren't binding. (as mentioned, they should NOT operate with LESS engagement than specified, although that is VERY uncommon) It's safe to assume you can still retract the telescoping shaft enough to attach it (without issues) to the tractor's pto stub, while mower is sitting on the ground...? Marking that point, can you extend the shaft well beyond that point and still have the two halves engaged? (with shaft detached from tractor)

Well what is so hard to understand? Woods does make a BB 72 Extreme -medium duty all you have to do is google it and you will see. As far as bush hog and brush hog we have already had that discussion it depends on where you are from as to what you call it.

 

[LD1]

"Bottoming out" is when the two sections collapse together. The problem is when there is more travel which would require the drive line to collapse further...which it could not. Then you damage the tractor's PTO ($$$$) or the implement gearbox ($$$).

THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

IS why you should NEVER do this>>>>>>>>

If there is enough slack to hook up the locking ring to the PTO of the tractor then that should be enough slack. As Roy mentions - raise and lower the mower to make sure the shaft does not bottom out when shortened during lifting.
[/URL]

Dont EVER check the length by hooking it up and raising the implement.

LEave the shaft UNHOOKED, and raise the implement to where the implements PTO shaft is CLOSEST to the tractors. THEN AND ONLY THEN hold the pto shaft up to the tractors PTO. IF the locking ring/pin is REARWARD of the dimples in the tractors PTO, you will not bind. BUT IF the locking ring/pin is beyond (too long) then it would have bound up and broke something.

At this point, measure how much too long it is. If it is 2" too long, I would cut 3 or 4 inches off BOTH halves of the PTO.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Well what is so hard to understand? Woods does make a BB 72 Extreme -medium duty all you have to do is google it and you will see. As far as bush hog and brush hog we have already had that discussion it depends on where you are from as to what you call it.

Woods BB72X is a LIGHT DUTY mower.....Their light OR medium duty BB series mowers aren't extreme duty rated. Calling a light duty mower "Xtreme" is a joke.....A few cosmetic changes and a new name that apparently people fall for.

"bush hog" can mean ANYTHING....."Bush Hog" is a brand name....We've had that conversation....Try to keep up.....